3D BioFibR, a Canadian tissue engineering company, is launching two new collagen fiber products, μCollaFibR and CollaFibR 3D scaffold, to enhance 3D bioprinting.
These new off-the-shelf products are made using 3D BioFibR’s new proprietary dry-spinning technology, which can create collagen fibers at commercial scales. These products, according to the company, offer significant advantages for applications in tissue engineering and cell culture.
From a strength, diameter, and quality perspective, 3D BioFibR claims that their products are “best in class,” accurately recreating the natural appearance, structure, and function of collagen fibers. The dry-spinning process is claimed to be up to 3,600x quicker than the competition. The collagen fibers can be used for an increasing number of biomedical applications in the tissue-engineering market.
“3D bioprinting is the future of regenerative medicine and it’s exciting to offer μCollaFibR to enhance the capabilities in 3D bioprinting. We all want to imagine a future where doctors could just print a kidney, using cells from the patient, instead of having to find a donor match,” commented 3D BioFibR CEO Kevin Sullivan. “Our collagen fibers represent a significant improvement over existing scaffolds used in 3D bioprinting, moving the field closer to this reality.”
Both μCollaFibR and CollaFibR 3D scaffold products are available to purchase now from the 3D BioFibR online store.
μCollaFibR and CollaFibR 3D scaffold
Researchers use monomeric collagen (individual protein) in biomedical applications. While monomeric collagen is useful for many purposes, increasing efforts are being made to reassemble individual proteins into fibers which more closely represent the collagen fibers of the human body.
μCollaFibR (pronounced micro-CollaFubR) is a bioinkn additive for laboratory 3D bioprinting of tissue and organ models. This product works by mimicking the body’s cellular scaffolds, acting like a biological rebar in bioinks used to 3D print living tissue.
Once added to bioinks, μCollaFibR enhances the mechanical durability of 3D printed tissue, allowing multiple cell layers to 3D printed layer-by-layer. This allows the production of highly-functional tissue and organs.
CollaFibR was designed to support 3D cell culture, which allows researchers the opportunity to study cellular responses in a 3D environment more relevant for physiological studies than traditional 2D culture. The fact that this product uses GMP-type 1 collagen is a key benefit. This results in a collagen matrix with consistent fibers that mimics biochemical and mechanical properties of the natural cellular environment.
“Our CollaFibR scaffold allows cells to grow and interact with the surrounding cellular scaffold in 3D, making it ideal for creating realistic tissue constructs for laboratory testing of new drugs and tissue models,” explained Sullivan. “Plus, our standard well plate dimensions are compatible with automated equipment for high throughput compound screening and advanced microscopy.”
3D bioprinting: The future of the industry
3D Bioprinting is a rapidly expanding area in the 3D Printing industry. Researchers at UMC Utrecht, for example, recently announced three innovations in volumetric printing. These new innovations are related to the creation biologically functional areas in 3D-printed cells, the use granular gels for optimizing 3D-bioprinted cells, and the combining of volumetric printing with melt electrowriting to 3D-print blood vessels. These developments are hoped to help expand the clinical applications of 3D printing.
3D Systems, meanwhile, announced in February this year plans for the Regenerative Tissue (RPT) Program. This strategic initiative is aimed at developing and commercializing bioprinting of human tissue. 3D Systems, according to reports, can design and 3D printer bio-integrative scaffolds that are tailored to the individual anatomy and physiology a patient. This technology is used to 3D print patient-specific regenerative breast tissues.
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Featured image shows μCollaFibR by 3D BioFibR. Photo by 3D BioFibR.
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